Lasting Communities

The Nghi Son Community Health Awareness project in Thanh Hoa province was built around Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC’s (NSRP) commitment to supporting the communities where it operates.

Located roughly 200 kilometers south of Hanoi, Tinh Gia District is a rural, coastal region that is home to the US $9 billion Nghi Son Refinery, which when completed in 2017, will serve as a major economic engine for both the local communities and Vietnam as a whole. The Nghi Son Community Health Awareness project was designed to deal with the risks posed by the influx of workers to the economic zone for the NSRP construction phase.

The project improved the health awareness of community members by inducing positive changes in their knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) regarding such issues as lowering the rates of gastrointestinal illnesses, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). To achieve this, the project focused on raising awareness about early healthcare prevention, identification, and treatment; building the capacity of local healthcare networks; and strengthening the medical documentation and coordination between all stakeholders. During the seven months that the project operated, Kenan reached a total of 10,608 community members in eight communes, including 4,473 secondary school students, 70 teachers and 1,300 parents, as well as trained 326 local health workers and officers.